An Astoria woman was found dead inside a burning vehicle early morning on Oct. 14 after the driver had crashed into a concrete barricade.
Harleen Grewal, 25, was found inside of a flaming 2007 Infiniti G35 at about 4 a.m. on Friday, police said. According to police, 23-year-old Saeed Ahmad was driving the vehicle and was speeding when he tried changing lanes in the westbound lanes of the Gowanus Expressway. Ahmed hit a concrete median, causing the car to go up in flames.
In a video obtained by ABC7, Ahmed is seen hailing a cab while Grewal is trapped inside the burning car. Police said he took the taxi to Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where he was treated for burns to his arms, legs and neck.
Ahmad was identified by ABC as Grewal’s boyfriend but her boyfriend, Karan Singh Dhillon, 28, has since spoken out about the incident. He told the Daily News that he and Grewal had been dating since 2015 and that the Astoria woman was selfless.
“She would do anything for people,” Dhillon told the Daily News. “She would give someone the clothes off her back. She would give someone food and go hungry.”
He also told the paper that he was not mad at Ahmed for fleeing the scene in a cab.
“If you get angry, you’re going the wrong way. Anger doesn’t solve anything. The biggest thing is forgiveness,” he said. “He has to deal with what happened for the rest of his life.”
Ahmad’s father, Mohammad Azam, called his son “crazy” for not calling 911, according to the New York Post. Ahmed’s brother, Waheed Ahmad, defended him telling the Post that he lost his phone in the car and sustained burns after trying to get Grewal out of the vehicle.
Ahmad was charged with criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, aggravated unlicensed operator and a speed violation.
